Wednesday, September 25, 2002

The first section ("General Notes") explains the new mechanics and concepts in the set. The second section ("Card-Specific Notes") contains answers to the most important questions players might ask about a given card.

Items in the "Card-Specific Notes" section include full rules text for your reference. Not all cards in the set are listed.

general

GENERAL NOTES

Morph and Face-Down Spells and Permanents

The official rules for the morph ability and face-down spells and permanents are as follows:

502.26. Morph

502.26a Morph is a static ability that functions any time you could play the card it's on, and the morph effect works until you turn the card face up. The phrase "Morph [cost]" means "You may play this card as a 2/2 face-down creature, with no text, no name, no subtypes, no expansion symbol, and a mana cost of 0, by paying 3 rather than its mana cost." Any time you could play an instant, you may show all players the morph cost of any face-down permanent you control, pay that cost, then turn the permanent face up. This action does not use the stack.

502.26b To play a spell using its morph ability, turn it face down. It becomes a 2/2 face-down creature spell, with no text, no name, no subtypes, no expansion symbol, and a mana cost of 0. Put it onto the stack (it stays face-down with the same characteristics), and pay 3 rather than pay its mana cost. You can use morph to play a spell from any zone from which you could normally play that spell. When the spell resolves, it comes into play with the same characteristics the spell had. The morph effect continues until the permanent is turned face up.

502.26c You can't play a card face down if it doesn't have morph.

502.26d Any time you could play an instant, you may turn a face-down permanent you control face up. To do this, show all players the permanent's morph cost, pay that cost, then turn the permanent face up. The morph effect on it ends, and it regains the card's normal characteristics. Any abilities relating to the permanent coming into play don't trigger when it's turned face up and don't have any effect, because the permanent has already come into play.

502.26e If a face-up permanent is turned face down by a spell or ability, it becomes a 2/2 face-down creature, with no text, no name, no subtypes, no expansion symbol, a mana cost of 0. The rules for morph and face-down spells and permanents apply to it normally.

502.26f See rule 504, "Face-Down Spells and Permanents," for more information on how to play cards with morph.

504. Face-Down Spells and Permanents

504.1. Two old cards (Camouflage and Illusionary Mask) and the morph ability (see rule 502.26), allow spells and permanents to be face down.

504.2. Face-down cards on the stack and face-down cards and tokens in play have no characteristics other than those listed by the card or rules that allow the card or token to be face down. Any listed characteristics are that card or token's initial characteristics. Permanents that are put into play face down are turned face down before they come into play, so the permanent's comes-into-play abilities won't trigger (if triggered) or have any effect (if static). Spells that are played face down are turned face down before they are put onto the stack, so effects that care about the characteristics of a spell will see only the face-down spell's characteristics. The cards remain face down as long as they are on the stack or in the in-play zone.

504.3. You may look at a face-down spell you control on the stack or a face-down permanent you control at any time. You can't look at face-down cards in any other zone or face-down spells or permanents controlled by another player. The card or rules that allow a permanent to be face down may also allow the permanent's controller to turn it face up. Spells normally can't be turned face up.

504.4. If you control multiple face-down spells on the stack or face-down permanents in play, you must ensure at all times that your face-down spells and permanents can be easily differentiated from each other. This includes, but is not limited to, knowing the order spells were played, the order that face-down permanents came into play, which creature attacked last turn, and any other differences between face-down spells or permanents. Common methods for distinguishing between face-down cards include using counters or dice to mark the different permanents, or clearly placing those permanents in order on the table.

504.5. As a face-down permanent is turned face up, its initial characteristics revert to its normal initial characteristics. Any effects that have been applied to the face-down permanent still apply to the face-up permanent. Any abilities relating to the permanent coming into play don't trigger and don't have any effect, because the permanent has already come into play.

504.6. If a face-down permanent moves from the in-play zone to any zone other than the phased-out zone, its owner must reveal it to all players as he or she moves it. If a face-down spell moves from the stack to any zone other than the in-play zone, its owner must reveal it to all players as he or she moves it. At the end of each game, all face-down spells and permanents must be revealed to all players.

* If a face-down creature phases out, it stays face down, and it stays face down when it phases back in.

* If a face-down creature is removed from the game, it's turned face up. If the creature returns to the game, it returns face up.

* You can't turn face-down spells on the stack face up.

* If a creature with morph has a static ability, the "timestamp" of the ability (see rule 418.5c of the Magic Comprehensive Rules) is the time when the creature came into play, not when it was turned face up.

* Counters, effects, enchantments, and damage stay with a face-up creature when it's turned face down. (Any enchantments on it stay face up. They aren't turned face-down along with the creature.)

* Turning a creature face up or face down won't change when it came into play, so the creature's ability to attack or use activated abilities which include the tap symbol will be unaffected.

* If you turn a face-down creature face up while its combat damage is on the stack and that creature has an ability which triggers "Whenever this creature deals combat damage," that ability will trigger when the combat damage resolves.

* Turning a permanent face up or face down doesn't tap or untap it.

* If you gain control of a face-down creature, you can look at what it is, and you can pay its morph cost to turn it face up. Your opponent can't, although he or she will know what the creature is.

* If a creature is turned face down in response to one of its abilities being played, that ability will resolve normally.

* Face-down creatures have no intrinsic creature types. They can be given creature types by effects.

* Face-down creatures don't have any abilities, so they aren't considered to have the morph ability. Face-up creatures with morph do have the ability.

* Illusionary Mask and Camouflage have been given errata to make them work properly with these new rules for face-down spells and permanents.

* If a spell or ability tells you to turn a face-down permanent face up, you don't have to pay that permanent's morph cost.

* If a face-down creature is targeted by a spell or ability on the stack and the creature is turned face up, the spell or ability targets the face-up creature. Check to see if the creature is a legal target when the spell or ability resolves.

* Turning a face-down creature with an evasion ability face up after it's been blocked doesn't affect the blockers, because restrictions on blocking are only checked at the time blockers are declared.

* A face-down creature spell can be countered just like any other creature spell.

* The Planeshift card Meddling Mage can't prevent a card from being played face down.

Fear

* The fear ability works just like an ability of some older cards which read, "This creature can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures."

Cycling

The official rules for the cycling ability are as follows:

502.18. Cycling

502.18a Cycling is an activated ability that functions only while the card with cycling is in a player's hand. The phrase "Cycling [cost]" means "[Cost], Discard this card from your hand: Draw a card. Play this ability only if this card is in your hand."

502.18b Although the cycling ability is playable only if the card is in a player's hand, it continues to exist while the card is in play. Therefore cards with cycling will be affected by effects that depend on a card in a graveyard or a permanent having one or more activated abilities.

Choking Tethers3U Instant Tap up to four target creatures. Cycling 1U (1U, Discard this card from your hand: Draw a card.) When you cycle Choking Tethers, you may tap target creature.

* The phrase "When you cycle [this card]" means "When you play [this card]'s cycling ability." This triggered ability will resolve before you draw a card from the cycling ability.

* A cycle trigger effect isn't a spell, so it can't be countered by spells and abilities that counter spells.

Creature Types

The Magic Comprehensive Rules have been changed to clarify which words you can choose for creature types. You can now choose only creature types that exist within the Magic game; you can't make up new ones.

214.7a If a card instruction requires choosing a creature subtype, you must choose one, and only one, existing creature type.

Example: "Merfolk" or "Wizard" is acceptable, but "Merfolk Wizard" is not. Words like "artifact," "opponent," "swamp," or "truck" can't be chosen because they aren't creature types.

* Artifact, creature, enchantment, instant, land, and sorcery are card types, not creature types. You can't choose any of them when you're choosing a creature type. Forest, island, mountain, plains, and swamp are land types, not creature types. You can't choose any of them when you're choosing a creature type. (Even if a land has been turned into a creature, its land type isn't a creature type.)

* Creatures with more than one creature type are all those types at once, and count toward anything that looks for any one of them.

* A creature shares a creature type with another creature if one or more of those creatures' types are the same. Only one of the types needs to match. If more than one type matches, you don't get the effect twice.

* When a creature changes its creature type, it loses whatever creature types it had before and gains only the newly chosen one.

Chains

* When a creature or a player is affected by one of the five Onslaught Chain cards, that creature's controller or that player gets to copy the spell, and have it affect another (or the same) creature or player.

Chain of Acid3G Sorcery Destroy target noncreature permanent. Then that permanent's controller may copy this spell and may choose a new target for that copy.

* The copy of the spell has the same text, target, and color as the original spell. The player who was the target of the previous spell, or the controller of the permanent that was the target of the previous spell, controls the copy. That player can choose to change the target of the copy.

* There's never more than one "link" in the chain on the stack at once. Each new copy of the spell is created when the previous one resolves. If any of the spells are countered (either by a spell or ability, or by having an illegal target when it resolves), the chain is broken and no more copies are made.

* The five Chains are Chain of Acid, Chain of Plasma, Chain of Silence, Chain of Smog, and Chain of Vapor.

* You can only target a creature that is of the appropriate type. But, if the creature's type changes after the Courier's ability has resolved, that doesn't change the effect.

Crowns

* The five Onslaught Crowns are creature enchantments with an activated ability that has an effect on the enchanted creature and all creatures that share a type with it.

Crown of Ascension1U Enchant CreatureEnchanted creature has flying.Sacrifice Crown of Ascension: Enchanted creature and other creatures that share a creature type with it gain flying until end of turn.

* When the second ability is played, the enchanted creature doesn't have the listed ability or effect until the ability resolves. When the ability resolves, check which creatures share a type with the (formerly) enchanted creature. The ability will affect both your creatures and other players' creatures.

* The Crowns are Crown of Ascension, Crown of Awe, Crown of Fury, Crown of Suspicion, and Crown of Vigor.

Costs with "Tap [number] untapped [creature type]"

* The Onslaught set has many creatures with activated abilities that require tapping multiple creatures of the same type to produce an effect.

* If Accursed Centaur is the only creature you control when its comes-into-play ability resolves, you'll have to sacrifice it.

Aggravated Assault2R Enchantment3RR: Untap all creatures you control. After this phase, there is an additional combat phase followed by an additional main phase. Play this ability only any time you could play a sorcery.

* You'll normally want to play this ability during your postcombat main phase so that you can untap the creatures that just attacked.

* If you have enough mana, you can use the ability to get more than one additional combat phase.

Aphetto Dredging3B Sorcery Return up to three target creature cards of the creature type of your choice from your graveyard to your hand.

* When you play Aphetto Dredging, you need to choose the creature type before choosing the targets. Most spells don't require a creature type to be chosen until the spell resolves.

Aphetto Vulture4BB Creature -- Zombie Bird3/2FlyingWhen Aphetto Vulture is put into a graveyard from play, you may put target Zombie card from your graveyard on top of your library.

* You can return the Aphetto Vulture to the top of your library with its own ability.

Artificial EvolutionU Instant Change the text of target spell or permanent by replacing all instances of one creature type with another. The new creature type can't be Legend or Wall. (This effect doesn't end at end of turn.)

* In this context, "the text" refers only to text in the card's text box and on the card's type line. It won't change parts of a card name, even if the name appears in the card's text box. For example, suppose you play Artificial Evolution targeting a spell named Embermage Goblin, changing all instances of "Goblin" to "Zombie." The affected creature's type line will read, "Creature -- Zombie Wizard," but its name will still be "Embermage Goblin" everywhere its name is used on the card.

* Artificial Evolution can change only what's actually printed on the card. It can't change creature types that are chosen or granted by spells or abilities. Copy cards are the exception to this rule -- anything they copy is treated as being printed on the card. See the entry for Clone for more information.

* If a creature's creature type has been changed by a spell or ability, changing the card's text won't affect or alter the new creature type.

* If you play Artificial Evolution targeting a token creature, you can change the creature type it was given when it was created, and any abilities it was given as it came into play.

* You can play one Artificial Evolution targeting another one on the stack, to change "Legend" or "Wall" on the first Artificial Evolution to another creature type. This will allow you to change a creature type to "Legend" or "Wall."

* If Artificial Evolution is used to change all instances of "Wall" into something else, the Wall reminder text will also be affected. However, this won't make creatures of the new type unable to attack. It's just reminder text, which is now inaccurate.

Ascending Aven2UU Creature -- Bird Soldier3/2FlyingAscending Aven may block only creatures with flying. Morph 2U (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)

* Ascending Aven can block a creature without flying when it's face down. Turning the Aven face up after it's been declared as a blocker doesn't remove it from combat, because restrictions on blocking are only checked at the time you declare blockers.

Astral Slide2W Enchantment Whenever a player cycles a card, you may remove target creature from the game. If you do, return that creature to play under its owner's control at end of turn.

* Astral Slide can remove token creatures from the game. If it does, the token won't be brought back into play, because tokens can't exist anywhere but in play.

* If a player cycles a card during the end of turn step, the creature that's removed from the game won't come back into play until the end of the next turn.

* If a face-down creature is removed from the game, it's turned face up. When the creature returns to the game, it returns face up.

Aurification2WW Enchantment Whenever a creature deals damage to you, put a gold counter on it.Each creature with a gold counter on it is a Wall in addition to its other creature types. (Walls can't attack.)When Aurification leaves play, remove all gold counters from all creatures.

* If a spell or ability changes the creature type of a creature with a gold counter on it, the new creature type overrides all previous creature types (including Wall). For example, you can use Imagecrafter's ability to make your creature able to attack for a turn.

* That opponent doesn't have to pay the morph cost of the target creature.

Broodhatch Nantuko1G Creature -- Insect Druid1/1Whenever Broodhatch Nantuko is dealt damage, you may put that many 1/1 green Insect creature tokens into play. Morph 2G (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)

* You can either put a number of Insect tokens into play equal to the damage or you can put zero tokens into play. You can't choose a number in between.

Butcher Orgg4RRR Creature -- Orgg6/6You may divide Butcher Orgg's combat damage as you choose among defending player and/or any number of creatures he or she controls.

* If the Orgg is blocked and *all* its blockers are removed before combat damage goes onto the stack, it won't be able to deal combat damage, so you won't be able to use its ability.

* You can use the Orgg's ability when you block with it. If you choose to use its ability, it will deal damage to you and your creatures. If you don't, Butcher Orgg will deal its combat damage to the creature it blocks.

Cabal Archon2B Creature -- Cleric2/2B, Sacrifice a Cleric: Target player loses 2 life and you gain 2 life.

* Cabal Archon is a Cleric, so you can sacrifice it to activate its own ability.

As Callous Oppressor comes into play, an opponent chooses a creature type.T: Gain control of target creature that isn't of the chosen type as long as Callous Oppressor remains tapped.

* You can't target a creature that is of the chosen type. But, if you take control of a creature which later becomes the chosen type, you don't lose control of that creature.

Charging Slateback4R Creature -- Beast4/3Charging Slateback can't block. Morph 4R (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)

* Charging Slateback can block when it's face down. Turning the Slateback face up after it's been declared as a blocker doesn't remove it from combat, because restrictions on blocking are only checked at the time you declare blockers.

Clone3U Creature -- Clone0/0As Clone comes into play, you may choose a creature in play. If you do, Clone comes into play as a copy of that creature.

* Clone doesn't copy any effects on the creature -- you just get exactly what's printed on the card and nothing more. So if you copy an animated land, for example, you get a normal, nonanimated land.

* Clone doesn't copy whether the original creature is tapped or untapped, or any enchantments or counters on the creature.

* Any comes-into-play abilities of the copied creature will trigger when Clone comes into play.

* If a Clone copies another Clone, it copies whatever the first one copied. That is, you get what was printed on the card that the original Clone copied.

* You can choose not to copy anything. In that case, Clone comes into play as a 0/0 creature, and is probably put into the graveyard immediately.

* If Clone copies a face-down creature, it's a 2/2 face-up creature, with no name, abilities, color, or creature types. The converted mana cost of the copy is 0. If the face-down creature is later turned face up, that doesn't affect the copy.

Contested CliffsLandT: Add 1 to your mana pool.RG, T: Choose target Beast you control and target creature an opponent controls. Each creature deals damage equal to its power to the other.

* Your creature must be a Beast, but your opponent's creature can be anything.

* Your Beast deals damage to your opponent's creature at the same time that creature deals damage to your Beast.

* If one of the targets is illegal when the ability resolves, it will do nothing. The target that's illegal can't be affected by the ability, so it can't be made to deal damage and can't have damage dealt to it.

Crude Rampart3W Creature -- Wall4/5(Walls can't attack.)Morph 4W (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)

* While Crude Rampart is face down, it's not a Wall, so it will be able to attack. Turning the Rampart face up after it's been declared as an attacker doesn't remove it from combat, because restrictions on attacking are only checked at the time you declare attackers.

* If an effect puts both Elvish Vanguard and another Elf into play at the same time, the Vanguard will get a +1/+1 counter.

Enchantress's Presence2G Enchantment Whenever you play an enchantment spell, draw a card.

* Since the ability of Enchantress's Presence triggers when an enchantment is *played*, it can't trigger its own ability.

Endemic Plague3B Sorcery As an additional cost to play Endemic Plague, sacrifice a creature.

Destroy all creatures that share a creature type with the sacrificed creature. They can't be regenerated.

* Endemic Plague destroys all creatures that have at least one of the types the sacrificed creature had when it was sacrificed.

Erratic Explosion2R Sorcery Choose target creature or player. Reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a nonland card. Erratic Explosion deals damage equal to that card's converted mana cost to that creature or player. Put the revealed cards on the bottom of your library in any order.

* If you only have land cards left in your library, Erratic Explosion won't deal any damage, but you'll be able to choose the order of your entire library.

Fallen Cleric4B Creature -- Zombie Cleric4/2Protection from ClericsMorph 4B (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)

* A creature with protection from Clerics can't be blocked by Clerics, it can't be the target of abilities from Clerics, and all damage that would be dealt to it from Clerics is prevented.

Foothill GuideW Creature -- Cleric1/1Protection from GoblinsMorph W (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)

* A creature with protection from Goblins can't be blocked by Goblins, it can't be the target of abilities from Goblins, and all damage that would be dealt to it from Goblins is prevented.

Future Sight2UUU EnchantmentPlay with the top card of your library revealed.You may play the top card of your library as though it were in your hand.

* If you draw several cards at once, reveal each one before you draw it.

* If the top card of your library is a land, you can play it if you could play a land.

* If the top card of your library is a nonland card, you can play it if you could normally play that spell. You'll still have to pay its mana cost.

* If the top card of your library is a creature with morph, you can play that creature face down for 3. However, all players will have seen which card it is before the spell is played.

* The top card of your library isn't in your hand, so you can't cycle it, discard it, or play any of its activated abilities.

* As soon as you've played the card on top of your library, reveal the next card in your library.

* You can only play the ability that returns the Gangrenous Goliath to your hand if it's in your graveyard.

Gigapede3GG Creature -- Insect6/1Gigapede can't be the target of spells or abilities.At the beginning of your upkeep, if Gigapede is in your graveyard, you may discard a card from your hand. If you do, return Gigapede to your hand.

* Gigapede's second ability triggers at the beginning of your upkeep. When it resolves, if Gigapede is still in your graveyard, you choose whether or not to discard a card and return it to your hand. If Gigapede has left your graveyard by this point, you can't discard a card and you can't return Gigapede to your hand.

Glarecaster4WW Creature -- Bird Cleric3/3Flying5W: The next time damage would be dealt to Glarecaster or you this turn, that damage is dealt to target creature or player instead.

* You don't choose a damage source when you play Glarecaster's ability. The next time damage would be dealt to Glarecaster or you this turn, that damage is redirected.

* You can play Glarecaster's ability more than once. If you do, it will set up multiple shields which will redirect multiple instances of damage.

* If you and Glarecaster would be damaged at the same time, Glarecaster's ability will redirect all the damage that would have been dealt both to you and to it to the target creature.

Goblin Machinist4R Creature -- Goblin0/52R: Reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a nonland card. Goblin Machinist gets +X/+0 until end of turn, where X is that card's converted mana cost. Put the revealed cards on the bottom of your library in any order.

* If you only have land cards in your library, Goblin Machinist gets +0/+0, but you'll be able to choose the order of your entire deck.

Goblin Piledriver1R Creature -- Goblin1/2Protection from blueWhenever Goblin Piledriver attacks, it gets +2/+0 until end of turn for each other attacking Goblin.

* You count the number of attacking Goblins when Goblin Piledriver's ability resolves.

Goblin Pyromancer3R Creature -- Goblin Wizard2/2When Goblin Pyromancer comes into play, all Goblins get +3/+0 until end of turn.At end of turn, destroy all Goblins.

* Goblin Pyromancer's end-of-turn ability only triggers if the Pyromancer is in play at the end of the turn.

* If several creatures are put into the graveyard at once, Goblin Sharpshooter's ability will trigger once for each creature. Since you get priority after each of these effects resolves, the Sharpshooter has the potential to deal 1 damage for each time it untaps.

Graxiplon5U Creature -- Beast3/4Graxiplon is unblockable unless defending player controls three or more creatures that share a creature type.

* If the defending player controls three or more creatures with the same creature type, he or she can block Graxiplon with any creatures.

Harsh Mercy2W Sorcery Each player chooses a creature type. Destroy all creatures that aren't of a type chosen this way. They can't be regenerated.

* Creatures that don't have any of the chosen types are destroyed when Harsh Mercy resolves. Creatures that have any of the chosen types are unaffected.

Head Games3BB Sorcery Target opponent puts the cards from his or her hand on top of his or her library. Search that player's library for that many cards. The player puts those cards into his or her hand, then shuffles his or her library.

* You don't have to give your opponent "new" cards; you can give your opponent cards that were in his or her old hand.

Insurrection5RRR Sorcery Untap all creatures and gain control of them until end of turn. They gain haste until end of turn.

* You gain control of all creatures, regardless of whether they were tapped or untapped.

* All creatures are untapped, even the ones you controlled before you played Insurrection.

* All creatures gain haste, even the ones you controlled before you played Insurrection.

* When you use Ixidor's ability to turn a creature face up, that creature's controller doesn't have to pay its morph cost.

Kaboom!4R Sorcery Choose any number of target players. For each of those players, reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a nonland card. Kaboom! deals damage equal to that card's converted mana cost to that player, then you put the revealed cards on the bottom of your library in any order.

* If you only have land cards in your library, Kaboom! won't deal any damage, but you'll be able to choose the order of your entire deck.

* You can target yourself, if you want to.

* If you target more than one player, go around the table in turn order. You do the whole thing for each player: Reveal cards for that player, damage that player, then put those cards on the bottom of your library.

Kamahl, Fist of Krosa4GG Creature -- Druid Legend4/3G: Target land becomes a 1/1 creature until end of turn. It's still a land.2GGG: Creatures you control get +3/+3 and gain trample until end of turn.

* If you turn a land into a creature, then play Kamahl's second ability, the land will get +3/+3 and trample. If you play these abilities in the other order, the land won't get the bonus.

* Kamahl, Pit Fighter and Kamahl, Fist of Krosa can be in play at the same time. Since they have different names, the Legend rule doesn't apply.

Krosan Tusker5GG Creature -- Beast6/5Cycling 2G (2G, Discard this card from your hand: Draw a card.)When you cycle Krosan Tusker, you may search your library for a basic land card, reveal that card, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library.

* When you cycle Krosan Tusker, you search your library for the basic land before you draw a card for cycling.

* If Lavamancer's Skill enchants a Wizard, that Wizard will gain both abilities, and its controller can use either one.

Lightning Rift1R Enchantment Whenever a player cycles a card, you may pay 1. If you do, Lightning Rift deals 2 damage to target creature or player.

* You choose the target when Lightning Rift's ability is put on the stack, but you don't pay until the ability resolves. So, if your opponent wants to prevent damage from the ability, he or she must do so before knowing whether you'll pay.

Mana Echoes2RR Enchantment Whenever a creature comes into play, you may add 1 to your mana pool for each creature you control that shares a creature type with it.

* The ability of Mana Echoes either gives you no mana or one colorless mana for each creature you control that shares a type with the creature (including itself). You can't choose to get any other amount of mana.

* If a creature has no creature types, no creatures can share a type with it.

Menacing Ogre3RR Creature -- Ogre3/3Trample, hasteWhen Menacing Ogre comes into play, each player secretly chooses a number. Then those numbers are revealed. Each player with the highest number loses that much life. If you are one of those players, put two +1/+1 counters on Menacing Ogre.

* If the target face-down creature is turned face up before Nosy Goblin's ability resolves, the creature is no longer a legal target and it's not destroyed.

Oblation2W Instant The owner of target nonland permanent shuffles it into his or her library, then draws two cards.

* If the permanent is a token, the token ceases to exist. Its owner shuffles his or her library, then draws two cards.

Oversold Cemetery1B Enchantment At the beginning of your upkeep, if you have four or more creature cards in your graveyard, you may return target creature card from your graveyard to your hand.

* If you don't still have at least four creature cards in your graveyard when this ability resolves, you don't return the target card to your hand.

Patriarch's Bidding3BB Sorcery Each player chooses a creature type. Each player returns all creature cards of a type chosen this way from his or her graveyard to play.

* Creature cards that don't have any of the chosen types aren't affected.

* Cards and abilities that change creature types can't normally affect which creatures are returned by Patriarch's Bidding, because they don't affect creature cards in graveyards. The one exception is the Mercadian Masques card Conspiracy.

Read the RunesXU Instant Draw X cards. For each card drawn this way, discard a card from your hand unless you sacrifice a permanent.

* You draw the cards, then sacrifice any permanents you want to sacrifice, then discard cards from your hand until you don't need to discard any more cards (or you have no cards in your hand).

* "For each card drawn this way" counts only how many cards were actually drawn, not how much was spent on X. For example, the ability of one of the Words in this set can cause you to draw fewer than X cards, and that would affect the number of cards you'd need to discard. However, it doesn't matter *who* drew the cards. The Torment card Plagiarize ("Until end of turn, if target player would draw a card, instead that player skips that draw and you draw a card.") could cause another player to draw cards from Read the Runes instead of you; that would not affect the number of cards you'd need to discard.

* You never have to sacrifice a permanent to Read the Runes. If you somehow end up with fewer cards in your hand than the number of cards drawn, you can choose to discard your hand and not sacrifice any permanents.

* If you control fewer permanents in play than the number of cards you drew, you'll have to discard at least some of the cards from your hand.

Riptide Biologist1U Creature -- Wizard1/2Protection from BeastsMorph 2U (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)

* A creature with protection from Beasts can't be blocked by Beasts, it can't be the target of abilities from Beasts, and all damage that would be dealt to it from Beasts is prevented.

Risky Move3RRR Enchantment At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player gains control of Risky Move.

When you gain control of Risky Move from another player, choose a creature you control and an opponent. Flip a coin. If you lose the flip, that opponent gains control of that creature.

* Risky Move's abilities don't target creatures or players.

* Risky Move's second ability only triggers when one player gains control of Risky Move from another player. The ability doesn't trigger when Risky Move comes into play. The second ability will trigger when Risky Move's first ability resolves or when any other card causes a player to gain control of Risky Move.

* If Risky Move causes a player to gain control of a creature, that effect doesn't end at end of turn (or even when Risky Move leaves play). However, it's almost certain that Risky Move's controller will change each turn.

* Shieldmage Elder's abilities don't include the tap symbol, so it can be tapped to help pay for one of its own abilities even if it hasn't been under your control since the beginning of your turn.

* If all damage is prevented from a spell which later becomes an artifact, creature, or enchantment, any damage the artifact, creature, or enchantment would deal this turn is also prevented. Normally, this is only relevant for creatures with haste.

* Preventing damage a spell would deal doesn't prevent damage that copies of the spell (such as copies of Chain of Plasma or copies created by Radiate) would deal.

* Tokens, lands which are also creatures, and face-down creatures all have a converted mana cost of 0, so Smother can be played targeting any of them.

* If a creature has X in its mana cost, X is 0 while it's in play.

Spy NetworkU Instant Look at target player's hand, the top card of that player's library, and any face-down creatures he or she controls. Look at the top four cards of your library, then put them back in any order.

* Only you get to look at these cards. You can't show them to your opponents or teammates.

Stag Beetle3GG Creature -- Insect0/0Stag Beetle comes into play with X +1/+1 counters on it, where X is the number of other creatures in play.

* You count only creatures that were already in play when Stag Beetle comes into play. You don't count Stag Beetle or any creatures that come into play at the same time as Stag Beetle.

StandardizeUU Instant Choose a creature type other than Legend or Wall. Each creature's type becomes that type until end of turn.

* Standardize only affects creatures that are in play when it resolves. It doesn't affect creatures that come into play later, or noncreature permanents that become creatures later.

Strongarm Tactics1B Sorcery Each player discards a card from his or her hand. Then each player who didn't discard a creature card this way loses 4 life.

* If a player's hand is empty, that player can't discard, so he or she will lose 4 life.

Syphon Mind3B SorceryEach other player discards a card from his or her hand. You draw a card for each card discarded this way.

* If a player has no cards in hand, he or she can't discard, so you don't get to draw a card for that player.

Tephraderm4R Creature -- Beast4/5Whenever a creature deals damage to Tephraderm, Tephraderm deals that much damage to that creature.Whenever a spell deals damage to Tephraderm, Tephraderm deals that much damage to that spell's controller.

* Tephraderm's abilities will trigger even if lethal damage is dealt to Tephraderm.

* Tephraderm's first ability will trigger on any damage, not just combat damage.

Trade Secrets1UU SorceryTarget opponent draws two cards, then you draw up to four cards. That opponent may repeat this process as many times as he or she chooses.

* Your opponent sees the cards he or she draws -- and how many cards you draw -- before he or she decides whether to repeat the effect.

* Each time the effect is repeated, the same opponent draws two cards, then you decide how many cards to draw. Then, the opponent chooses whether to repeat the effect.

* You can only play the ability that returns the Undead Gladiator to your hand if it's in your graveyard.

* Since Undead Gladiator's ability is activated, not triggered, it can be played any time during your upkeep. For example, you could return Undead Gladiator to your hand, cycle it, and then return it to your hand again that same upkeep.

Unified StrikeW InstantRemove target attacking creature from the game if its power is less than or equal to the number of Soldiers in play.

* You check the number of Soldiers in play only when Unified Strike resolves. If the target creature's power isn't less than or equal to the number of Soldiers in play at that point, Unified Strike does nothing.

* Wall of Mulch is a Wall, so you can sacrifice it to activate its own ability.

Wheel and Deal3U InstantAny number of target opponents each discards his or her hand and draws seven cards.Draw a card.

* You can play Wheel and Deal targeting no opponents; you draw a card and the spell has no other effect.

* You can't target yourself with Wheel and Deal because you're not your own opponent.

Words of War2R Enchantment1: The next time you would draw a card this turn, Words of War deals 2 damage to target creature or player instead.

* You choose the target when you play the ability. You check again to see if the target's legal when the ability resolves. Once you've done that, you don't check whether the target's legal again. Words of War will deal 2 damage to that creature or player the next time you would draw a card.